"'But, Kate,' I said to her, 'you are much better off here than you can be at the North.'
"'Done got nuffin' here,' she asserted positively.
"'You have that little cabin Mrs. H—— allows you to live in.'
"'Sho' now, Mars' Cap'n, 'course I has.'
"'But at the North you will have no house unless you can pay for it.'
"'Pay for it! Why, don't they gib deir niggas a cabin?'
"'No. You may get a room, but you will have to pay so much a week to be allowed to live in it. And Mrs. H—— lets you have your food too.'
"'But dey'll gib a nigga her food, cap'n—nebber make her pay for a han'fu' of meal an' a lash o' bacon?'
"'You will have to pay for every mouthful. And it is cold there too, Kate—very cold at this time of the year. You will have to buy clothes or freeze to death.'
"'But dey'll 'low me two suits?'